Coronavirus: Australia to shut borders until 2021, but will let international students in
- Canberra will allow international students and long-term visitors to enter as long as they comply with a 14-day quarantine period
- The return of international students will be a boost for universities, with the international education sector worth US$26.1 billion a year
Australia is unlikely to reopen its border to international travellers until next year, but will look to relax entry rules for students and other long-term visitors, Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said on Wednesday.
Birmingham said a quarantine rule for returning citizens could be applied to international students and other visitors who plan to stay for a long period of time.
“We can simply work through the 14-day quarantine periods that have worked so well in terms of returning Australians to this country safely,” Birmingham said in a speech to the National Press Club.
The return of international students will be a boost for universities facing big financial losses with the border closed as international education is Australia’s fourth-largest foreign exchange earner, worth A$38 billion (US$26.14 billion) a year.